Ways to distinguish yourself #103 Validate your private reasons

We take certain decisions for certain reason(s). Many times there is a public reason and there is a private reason for a decision. A public reason is what we say to others to justify the decision and a private reason is why we really took that decision. While we can fool someone else with a public reason, it is best not to fool ourselves with it. We need to be clear about the private reason and actually question ourselves whether it is really a “valid” reason in the first place.

A few days ago, I met a gentleman (Let’s call him John) who was aspiring to be an entrepreneur. After a few minutes into the conversation, I asked John why doesn’t he want to start a company tomorrow. The reason (public) he gave was “financial stability.”

After a few more minutes into the conversation and once we got to know better, I asked John what the real reason was. John mentioned that one of his close friends went on this path and after eight months he had closed only one deal and there was a lot of struggle just to survive. John had decided that he should not start a company until he secures a few projects from the get go. This was the private reason.

In the above example, both reasons seem to get linked slightly. Look back in your own life and re-visit some of the significant decisions. There is a possibility that some of them have two reasons – one public and one private. Next time when you make a decision, check on the validate your “private” reason first. You may be surprised on what you find there.